Abstract: Abstract
Numerous studies have reported that spatial ability improves through training. This study investigated the following: (1) whether design training enhances spatial ability and (2) whether differing solution strategies are applied or generated following design training. On the basis of these two research objectives, this study divided the participants into design and non-design groups. Each participant in these groups was required to complete three spatial tests and one solution strategy questionnaire. This study found that the participants in the design group outperformed those in the non-design group regarding spatial visualization and spatial relations; however, the two groups showed no difference in visuospatial perceptual speed performance. The design and non-design groups adopted different solution strategies; the design group used the holistic strategy, whereas the non-design group used the analytical strategy.PubDate: 2015-02-19

Abstract: Abstract
A pilot research was undertaken in Icelandic schools during the 2013–2014 school year, in order to explore students’ technological understanding and reasoning at the ages of 11 and 13. The survey included a questionnaire regarding mechanical movement, power and thermodynamics, while the project considered the congruity between students’ undertakings within Design and Craft education in the national curricula and their ability to understand technology. This article examines the literature and considers the value of technology lessons within Icelandic Design and Craft education, in terms of students’ technological competence. Data was collected using a questionnaire distributed to three elementary schools and is highlighted with the researchers’ reviews of the national curricula. Findings were discussed and conclusions drawn and the results highlighted a general lack of understanding in technology, within the context of students’ daily lives. In addition, there were differences between boys and girls.PubDate: 2015-02-11

Abstract: Abstract
The supply of highly qualified scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians is perceived by governments globally as being vital in securing economic prosperity, but somewhere along the line pupils are being ‘switched off’, and disengage with the study of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) beyond compulsory schooling. Improved STEM Education is presented as a way forward, and the supply of well qualified teachers is perceived as integral to achieving this vision. However in England and Wales, as government funded teacher training bursaries rise for those seeking to pursue a career in mathematics or science, funding for those wishing to train to teach engineering or design and technology is less lucrative. As individual disciplines both hold enormous potential to contribute to the STEM agenda, however currently this is not wholly realised. Set against a background of policy reform and curriculum change, this paper seeks to explore the ways teachers of design and technology perceive STEM, and how the range in variation of perception, relates to design and technology pedagogy. Phenomenography is the adopted methodology, and as such this paper explores participant’s pedagogical understanding and perceptions from a non-dualistic ontological stance. The primary research tool was interview, which following data analysis, categories of description were formed to create empirically grounded outcome spaces. Outcomes from this study show that teacher’s perception of STEM, their personal knowledge, and understanding of that knowledge, is intrinsically linked to the effectiveness of STEM delivery in their own classroom practice. In conclusion, findings from this study would support, in order for learners (pupils) to become STEM literate, that teachers of all STEM subjects be supported to explore ways in which they can best foster mutually reciprocal arrangements with their STEM counterparts.PubDate: 2015-02-08

Abstract: Abstract
Iteration during the design process is an essential element. Engineers optimize their design by iteration. Research on iteration in Primary Design Education is however scarce; possibly teachers believe they do not have enough time for iteration in daily classroom practices. Spontaneous playing behavior of children indicates that iteration fits in a natural way of learning. To demonstrate the importance of iteration for the design performance and understand what occurs in an optimized situation a study was conducted in a Dutch Montessori school. Four conditions were chosen to shape the design assignment; iteration, freedom of choice, collaboration and presentation. The choice for these conditions was inspired by the work of Montessori, and because of the positive effects on design performance during previous design and technology projects. This led to a concrete assignment, suitable for 6–8 years old, “Fold a piece of aluminum foil so it can hold the weight of marbles when it lies on the water. The more marbles it can hold the better.” Self correction was possible as the challenge lays in the ease to improve countable results. Clear results of iteration could be determined; an increasing sense of control and detailed insight in what to do for maximum results were found amongst the pupils. Additional literature about capability development and metacognition confirmed the value of the four conditions in relation to the observed results.PubDate: 2015-02-01

Abstract: Abstract
This article discusses pupils’ readiness for self-regulation in Exploratory Production in Technology Education. In the forethought phase of Exploratory Production, pupils envision and regulate their technological production activities. Next, in the performance phase, the envisioned goals are tried and implemented through ideating, planning and manufacturing. Finally, in the self-regulation phase, the goals are tested with new products in their usage targets. The theoretical framework of self-regulated learning and empirical categorization of the data are based on Zimmerman’s model (Self-regulated learning from teaching to self-reflective practice. The Guilford Press, New York, pp 1–19, 1998, Handbook of self-regulation of learning and performance. Routledge, London, pp 49–64, 2011). The focus of this article is on the forethought phase. The empirical analysis in this article is based on national evaluation data of Finnish compulsory education. The first national evaluation of learning outcomes in Technology Education (taught within the subject Craft) was implemented by the Finnish National Board of Education in spring 2010. The evaluation was carried out as two questionnaires for ninth graders with general (n = 4,792) and advanced (n = 1,548) questions, and a production exercise (n = 661). In this article, the data is analyzed further based on learners’ comprehensions, leisure-time activities and classroom techniques. The article is part of a larger research project that aims to improve the national evaluation data. The results on pupils’ readiness for self-regulation in the forethought phase of Exploratory Production are encouraging. Pupils’ have positive comprehensions of the Craft & Technology (C & T) subject and they find learning useful for their current life and for the future. Learning tasks and producing tasks in the C & T subject could be even more related to pupils’ own technological and functional experiences. More effort should be given to support pupils’ readiness to regulate goals for their own technological production activities.PubDate: 2015-02-01

Abstract: Abstract
In 2009 the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture assigned the National Board of Education with the task of carrying out a nationwide evaluation of all seven cross-curricular themes. The evaluation is one of the largest education evaluation projects the National Board of Finland has ever organised. The present authors were invited to evaluate the theme “Human Being and Technology”. Data were collected during fall 2010 with ninth-grade pupils (the last grade in Basic School) around Finland answering the questionnaires. The questionnaire was completed by 1,181 (both Finnish and Swedish speaking) grade-nine pupils. The main focuses of the study are: (1) pupils’ knowledge about technology, (2) pupils’ attitudes towards technology, and (3) pupils’ activity know-how of technology. It seems that the development of technological ideas has not been implemented at all in HBT cross-curricular teaching, even though this particular section of the cross-curricular theme could have introduced something new and concrete that would steer pupils towards innovativeness and creativity. Paying more attention to this aim would better link visual art and craft education to this cross-curricular theme, particularly since it is only in visual arts and craft studies that learning of innovation processes is given as one of the learning objectives. It is particularly the contents of craft education that refer to the learning of a technological innovation process. The attitudes of youth towards technology and the development of technology were in line with the objectives of the national framework curriculum, yet the wide-ranging utilization and application of technology, let alone the further development of technology, has not been made possible, neither in this particular cross-curricular theme nor in school routines. A positive observation, however, was that the majority of young people understood the connection between technology and manual skills.PubDate: 2015-02-01

Abstract: Abstract
Designers often collaborate to explore creative ideas, especially during the early stages of conceptual design, and their mental models, as the framework of design tasks, greatly influence the collaborative sketching process. Such models have multiple kinds of differences and each kind might have unique effects, yet previous studies analyzed these differences as a whole and have reported only the effects of overall similarity. Because ideas are the embodiments of mental models, this study referred to the components of ideas to construct the structure of mental models. We constructed a three-level mental model involving goals, functions, and structures and arranged the ideas in sketching accordingly into a three-level idea tree. A collaborative sketching experiment was conducted, and the effects of the three levels of mental models were compared. Participants accepted different goals and produced large numbers of new functions. They stuck with similar functions and continued to generate new structures. Participants had different strategies when exploring the levels of the mental models, providing possibilities for new methods of collaborative sketching.PubDate: 2015-02-01

Abstract: Abstract
Technology is more present than ever. Young people are interested in technological products, but their opinions on education and careers in technology are not particularly positive (Johansson in Mathematics, science & technology education report. European Round Table of Industrials, Brussel, 2009). If we want to stimulate students’ attitudes towards technology we need to have a better understanding of the factors which determine attitudes. Different studies (e.g. Volk and Yip in Int J Technol Des Educ 9:57–71, 1999; Jones et al. in Sci Educ 84(2):180–192, 2000; George in Int J Sci Educ 28(6):571–589, 2006; Salminen-Karlsson in Int J Sci Educ 29(8):1019–1033, 2007) have proven that students’ characteristics correlate with their attitudes towards technology. As these studies often focus on effects on a specific aspect of attitude; the total effect cannot be interpreted correctly because attitude is a multi-dimensional concept (Osborne et al. in Int J Sci Educ 23(5):441–467, 2003). This study focuses upon six aspects of attitude namely: interest, career aspirations, boredom, consequences, difficulty and gender issues. Therefore a multivariate model has been set up. This allows us to answer the main research question: What is the predictive power of students’ characteristics with regard to aspects of their attitudes towards technology? The revalidated version of the Pupils Attitude Towards Technology instrument (Ardies et al. in Des Technol Educ 18(1):8–19, 2013) was used in a large (n = 2,973) scale investigation of 12–14 year old students (Grade 1 and Grade 2 of secondary education). Given the multilevel nature of the data and that students are allocated to specific teachers, we analysed the data with a multivariate multilevel approach. The results of the study show a decline in interest in technology from the first to the second grade of secondary education. This finding appears to be stronger for girls. Interest in technology is significantly positively related to the amount of time that technology is taught for, as well as to the teacher. Parents have a positive influence on several aspects of attitude to technology when mothers and/or fathers have a profession related to technology. Equally, the presence of technological toys at home is a significantly positive characteristic. As the results confirmed previous, fragmented studies in related disciplines like science education, this study contributes to the wider body of knowledge concerning students’ attitudes towards technology and how this can be investigated.PubDate: 2015-02-01

Abstract: Abstract
The integration of robotics in education is still relatively new and represents an important advance in education practices. So, this paper aims to share the results from the perspectives of both students and trainers in an experimental case research in which LEGO Mindstorms construction kits were used. Sixty-two students between the ages of 8 and 14 participated in the study. Multiple data collection methods were used to ensure the richness and diversity of the data. According to the findings, constructivist learning experiences that students had in this training program were themed into the four major themes; active learning, authentic learning, multiple perspectives and collaborative learning. Learning through construction kits offered opportunities to deepen the students’ understanding of various concepts with hands-on exploration and design, resulting in fun and enjoyment. It also promoted students’ active involvement and fostered the collaboration that leads to developing multiple perspectives.PubDate: 2015-02-01

Abstract: Abstract
This paper discusses the design activities of students in secondary school in France. Graphics tools are now part of the capacity of design professionals. It is therefore apt to reflect on their integration into the technological education. Has the use of intermediate graphical tools changed students’ performance, and if so in what direction, in phase of seeking solutions through a design activity in a situation of teaching and learning? The influence of computer aided design (CAD) tools on design professional activities has been the subject of much research, but little has focused on student activity. Thus, analysing student work through an experimental device, we ask that students produce more solutions without using CAD tools. Do CAD activities encourage the modelling of a particular solution? Does drawing by hand before CAD activities support the production of various solutions and define them more precisely? Through the analysis of solutions developed by students, including traces of their activity (sketches, digital files), we test our hypotheses.PubDate: 2015-02-01

Abstract: Abstract
Technological literacy is identified as a vital achievement of technology- and engineering-intensive education. It guides the design of technology and technical components of educational systems and defines competitive employment in technological society. Existing methods for measuring technological literacy are incomplete or complicated, unreliable, unstable and imprecise, time-consuming, and require large expenditures on resources. This paper presents a new method for valid and reliable measuring of technological literacy. The method encompasses three main components—knowledge, capabilities, and critical thinking and decision-making. It is centred on the standards for technological literacy issued by the International Technology and Engineering Educators Association. It has three key features. (1) A construct-measure-result front-ended approach, where a construct consists of an object, attribute, and entity; which causes reduction of measure-induced distortion and error. (2) A broad test range definition that provides stable and accurate measuring of technological literacy for 6–18-year-old students. (3) A genuine design approach including a multiple choice test item form determination consisting of content, criterion and construct validity, item discrimination, difficulty index, and an intraclass correlation measure for time stability and scooping its heterogeneous nature. Only the method is described herein and its pilot test results are presented. It is moderately reliable over time (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.68, p < 0.05), has high criterion-related validity (r
xy
< 0.4) and construct validity (h
2 > 0.7). High content validity evidence was ensured through a two-stage validation method, while test item discrimination coefficient values are acceptable (r
pbis
> 0.1). The method is time-efficient (measuring lasts 45 min), valid, stable, and enables holistic investigation of large sample sizes.PubDate: 2015-01-24

Abstract: Abstract
Empirical evidence on the way in which expert designers from different domains cognitively connect their internal processes with external resources is presented in the context of an extended cognition model. The article focuses briefly on the main trends in the extended design cognition theory and in particular on recent trends in information processing and embodiment theory. The aim of the paper is to reflect on the implications of an understanding of expert design cognition as an extended system, which can account for complexity and non-linearity in design thinking and problem-solving, for technology and design education. This is achieved by showing the relevance of the cross-correlations and the dynamics involved at the intersection of cognitive phases, intention-driven decision making and embodiment principles of experts for novice education in technology and design. It is argued that twentieth century one-sided approaches to design education no longer adequately serve the needs of the twenty first century. It is further argued that a combined information-processing + embodiment approach may be the answer. The article presents salient results of a case study using think-aloud-protocol studies in a quasi-experimental format that was used as it has proven to be a central instrument yielding scientific data in the cognitive science paradigm. Results suggested extended design environments may be particularly well-suited to the mediation of design thinking. Finally, based on these results, the article examines how educators can exploit the combined approach to advance the making of connections between the inner and outer world in design education.PubDate: 2014-12-28

Abstract: Abstract
Emotions have a significant effect on the processes of designing and creative thinking. In an educational context, some emotions may even be detrimental to creativity. To further explore the link between creativity and emotion, a series of interviews were conducted with design and technology (D&T) teachers in Singapore, Hong Kong and Beijing concerning their experiences of working with students on design projects. The intent was to investigate how these teachers understood and managed their students’ emotions while teaching creative design skills. Some teachers indicated that they understood their students’ emotions through observing their behaviour, connecting with them by synchronising emotions or by evaluating student performance. The teachers also reported using various other methods to handle their students’ emotions. This study highlights the importance of equipping D&T teachers with skills for awareness and regulation of emotions so that they can better enable students to cultivate creativity in the design process.PubDate: 2014-12-27

Abstract: Abstract
Many education initiatives in science and technology education aim to create enthusiasm among young people to pursue a career in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). Research suggests that personal interaction between secondary school students and scientists could be a success factor, but there is a need for more in-depth research on the actual effects of science education initiatives. This paper describes an in-depth, qualitative assessment of a technology design activity, using as a theoretical framework the expectancy-value model of academic choice Eccles and Wigfield (Annu Rev Psychol 53:109–132, 2002). A core element in the studied education initiative is the interaction between secondary school students and scientists. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with participating students and analysed qualitatively to disentangle the factors in their motivation to participate in this initiative and their experiences and memories gathered during participation. Last, this paper reflects on the use of the expectancy-value model for in-depth assessments of science education initiatives. Results show that interest-enjoyment values and attainment values are most important in the students’ motivation to participate in the studied activity. These values are connected to educational principles of authentic practice, and of providing meaningful contexts for scientific concepts. Furthermore, results show that the interaction between students and scientists is not automatically a success factor. Disappointment in this interaction, can cast a shadow on students’ whole experience. This leads us to propose to include an additional factor in the expectancy-value model of achievement related choice: educational environment, including ‘personal interaction’ as an element. Adding this factor would—in our opinion—create an even better framework for in-depth assessment of science education initiatives.PubDate: 2014-12-25

Abstract: Abstract
This study proposes a basic learning program for enhancing visual literacy using an original Web content management system (Web CMS) to share students’ outcomes in class as a blog post. It seeks to reinforce students’ understanding and awareness of the design of visual content. The learning program described in this research focuses on to address how to create meanings of visual content that is important to express information visually, and includes three exercises based on perception, visual variables, and signification. The Web CMS to publish student works and share in class helps enhance students’ reflection. We also developed a rubric as an assessment device for students’ outcomes. The content of the learning program and its implementation are described with the support of observational data.PubDate: 2014-12-18

Abstract: Abstract
This study examined the role of flow experience in intellectual activity with an emphasis on the relationship between flow experience and creative behaviour in design using CAD. The study used confluence and psychometric approaches because of their unique abilities to depict a clear image of creative behaviour. A cross-sectional study questionnaire was used to collect data from 597 architecture design students. We found that both the characteristics of a design task and the interactivity of CAD positively predict the experience of flow. We also found that flow experiences partially mediate the relationship between the interactivity of CAD and creative behaviour in design. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are also discussed.PubDate: 2014-12-14

Abstract: Abstract
In England, food technology is part of the curriculum for design and technology but the purpose of food technology education is not clear. Over the years, food on the school curriculum has generally been seen as a practical, learning to cook, activity initially for girls to prepare them for domestic employment or housewifery. As society has developed many aspects of design and technology teaching have also developed, to include teaching about new materials, new equipment and new processes but we argue that food technology has developed less slowly than other areas of design and technology. We question whether the current food technology curriculum provides an appropriate education for pupils in the twenty-first century. The research involved interviews with stakeholders to develop a conceptual framework for a modern food curriculum. School schemes of work and examination specifications were then analysed against this conceptual framework, and teachers and pupils were surveyed about their experiences of teaching and learning in food technology. The findings indicate that the main purpose of food technology on the school curriculum is still linked to developing pupils’ practical food-making skills as a ‘life skill’, although one which is now available to boys and girls. We suggest that food technology education should serve a different and more sophisticated purpose in the twenty-first century; it could help pupils to develop their understanding of the underlying scientific principles, broaden their general knowledge of food-related issues and better prepare them for citizenship and employment.PubDate: 2014-11-14

Abstract: Abstract
While the goal of the vocationalisation of school curriculum has been viewed as fallacious and mythical, many countries have continued to introduce practical subjects in schools. This paper reports on the views of three teachers involved in the development of the technology studies curriculum. The curriculum developers’ views were corroborated with a focus group discussion involving teachers that were invited for the first ever primary school technical teacher training. The in-depth discussions focused on their understanding of the rationale and future of technology studies in the primary school curriculum and how to build teacher capacity for the subject. The teachers viewed the programme as providing primary school learners with skills for their survival after school as chances of proceeding to secondary were limited. Learning in this programme was also seen as likely to develop attitudes necessary for technology studies at tertiary level. In conclusion, the teachers hold the assumption similar to skills development for jobs and employment while technological literacy is not viewed in its broad sense and this has implications on how and what to teach.PubDate: 2014-11-13

Abstract: Abstract
The development of digital technology tool and the progress of animation design activities have led to great progress in the animation field. The storyboard is a type of media used to present animator ideas. Therefore, it is commonly viewed as fundamental to the animation industry. This study aims to discuss cognitive style- and gender-based differences in word and image idea associations and how to create a story using word and image stimuli. Using a cognitive style index instrument, 104 university freshmen (48 males and 56 females) were classified into the four type groups of male analytic, male intuitive, female analytic, and female intuitive. Each participant was then asked to execute two design tasks: associate word and image ideas (ideational process) and develop a storyboard (ideational outcome). Four experts evaluated outcomes in terms of creativity, structure, and drawing skill. Results show that larger numbers of words and images correlate with good word and image ideas and that analytic females exhibited the greatest level of ideation and intuitive males exhibited the least.PubDate: 2014-11-01